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Academic RegaliaAcademic Robes and Regaliathe origins of academic dressThe origins of academic dress dateback to the 12th and 13th centurieswith the garb of the medieval scholar.The ordinary dress of the scholar—whether student or teacher—was thedress of a cleric. Long gowns wereworn, perhaps being necessary forwarmth in unheated buildings. Typically,medieval scholars took minoroaths, made certain vows, and oftenwere tonsured (shaved hair on thecrown of the head as part of a ritual).Hoods served to cover the tonsuredhead, and were reserved for teacherswho, at that time, held the equivalentof master’s or doctoral degrees.The assignment of colors to signifycertain faculties was a muchlater development, having only beenstandardized in the United States inthe late 19th century. White, takenfrom the white fur trimming of theOxford and Cambridge Bachelor ofArts hoods, was assigned to Arts andLetters. Red, one of the traditionalcolors of the church, went to theology.Green, the color of medieval herbs,was adopted for medicine, and olive—because it was so close to green—wasgiven to pharmacy. Golden yellow,standing for the wealth which scientificresearch has produced, wasassigned to the sciences.While European institutions havegreat diversity in their academic regalia,American colleges and universitiessettled on a definitive system for allto follow. A commission made up ofrepresentatives from leading institutionsmet at Columbia University in1895 to adopt a code of academicdress that regulated the cut, style, andmaterials of academic gowns, as wellas prescribed the colors which wereto represent the various fieldsof learning.In 1932, the American Council ofEducation authorized a committee toapprove a code for academic regaliathat has been in effect since thattime. As a result, the following are thecategories of the degrees awarded byWestern Governors University, withtheir associated hood colors formaster’s degrees:Businesss - Drab (Beige)Education - Light BlueNursing - ApricotPublic Health - Salmon PinkScience and IT - Golden YellowThis history of academic robes and regalia can be attributed to: E. Sullivan (1997). AmericanCouncil on Education, American Universities and Colleges, 15th edit., Walter de Gruyter, Inc.12 | WGU Alumni Newsletter - Summer 2011